LifeQuest Recovers Florida’s First DCD Heart – LifeQuest Organ Recovery Services

December 20, 2019:

LifeQuest Organ Recovery Services was the first organ procurement organization (OPO) in Florida to recover a heart for transplant from a donor after circulatory death. Until recently, hearts were only recovered for life-saving transplantation from organ donors who had been declared brain dead.

Several U.S. organ transplant centers have been approved to perform heart transplants from DCD donors under a new clinical trial in which a mechanical device is used to perfuse the organ with oxygenated blood after recovery and prior to transplant. The first DCD heart transplant in the nation was performed successfully earlier this month.

“We are so grateful to this donor who made the decision to help others by enrolling on Florida’s organ and tissue donor registry,” said Danielle Balbis, executive director of LifeQuest. “That decision contributed to the successful recovery of multiple organs for life-saving transplantation.”

There currently are 113,000 patients who are on the national waiting list for life-saving transplants. Of those, almost 3,800 are waiting for hearts. In Florida, there are 5,500 patients on the waiting list, nearly 200 of whom are listed for hearts.

The vast majority of organ donors are patients who have been declared brain dead, which is defined as the complete cessation of all brain activity, including the brain stem. Organ donation after cardiac death is an option for patients who have not been declared brain dead but have suffered irreversible devastating neurologic injuries and whose families have made the decision to discontinue ventilator support. Donation after circulatory death occurs only after the patient’s heart has stopped beating, and death has been declared.

“This is ground-breaking territory for those patients in need of heart transplants,” Balbis said. “So many more lives will be saved due to advancements in medical technology and innovative research like this. It also will allow us to honor the wishes of many more donors by maximizing their gifts.”